


The Truth Doesn't Work In Black And White

by SnowMercury



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-03-21 16:15:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13744638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowMercury/pseuds/SnowMercury
Summary: Nepeta Leijon recovers on an Earth C, grieving one Equius Zahhak and moving on.(Tags will be updated. Meowrails isn't looked upon favorably, red teraranep later on and pale kannep as well. possibly black arafef, depends on pacing.)





	1. Chapter 1

She felt jittery, like ten thousand hummingbirds were living in her hands, her feet, her head; they all overlapped to fill her with static, a buzzing sound louder than anything else she could hear. 

"Are you.... Okay?"

In front of her was John Egbert, behind him Dirk Strider, Kanaya Maryam, and Jane Crocker. She couldn't always remember names, had never even met Jane, unless as Davepeta- did they still exist? Was that why she felt the way she did? Her toes scrunched up, kneading the ground as she stared at the others, glad for one familiar face at least. 

"Sorry, I didn't.... What did you say?"

Something about the deep deep blue of John's godtier outfit annoyed her. 

"I asked if you were, uh, okay? I know sometimes dealing with someone dying can be hard, but-"

"John! Some subtlety!"

"Oh, right, sorry about that, just... Sorry we couldn't bring him back?"

It felt like she was on a stage, every action examined and double-checked, grading scale a steep all or nothing. Did she hear right? Did she understand? No- couldn't be. He couldn't be.... Dead. Perma-dead. Gone, forever. Somehow, the situation seemed too dire for puns. They left a sour taste in her mouth when she even thought them. 

Her moirail, Equius Zahhak, wasn't successfully brought back. From what she'd heard, it had something to do with him being a void player; they couldn't locate the.... Ecto-whatever needed to bring him back, even with Roxy's help. John's retcon powers had worked for everybody else, with Jane's life powers added in and Kanaya there to help stabilize their position in space, and Dirk to cut off any remnants of mind control or outer ring influences in some. 

But Equius was the one troll they couldn't. She felt- numb. Not angry, or sad, or even. Happy? Just numb. 

"I'm going to need some time."

Staring down at the floor as she said that, she waited for a minute while the others fell silent- she'd interrupted in the middle of an explanation, feeling like she needed to explain something of her own. With that, she walked towards the door of the lab, only now taking note of the surroundings. 

She continued walking, out of the building, off the street, out of the city- into the surrounding forest. When she got to a cave, she went inside and sat down, deep blue tail wrapped around her legs and arms hugging her sides- how long had they been doing that?

And she sat there. And she waited. For- something, anyways. 


	2. Chapter 2

She didn't have to wait for long- or rather, it didn't seem long. Nepeta had been sitting on the cold cold floor of the cave, grips on her sides slowly loosening, head falling back slowly to rest against the stone wall. A marathon had been run in her veins; even moving her hands felt like she needed to take a break. She wasn't used to feeling tired; back on Alternia, she had never run out of energy, not unless she had gone for one of her infamous three day hunting trips. They were tough, and involved tracking day beasts through her forest, fending off the undead with her claws and all the while trying to stay in the shade. Sunglasses were a must.

Those trips had long ago been stopped, when she'd met Equius. He'd told her, in no uncertain terms, that 'no dignified troll would stay awake during the day', that staying awake for three days was 'foalishness'. And here she was, remembering Equius again. 

She let one hand drop down to the ground fully, feeling the rough floor. It was cold, and smooth, but slightly grainy in the way that stone rocks were. She found it comforting. Like her wrigglerhood home; unmoving, always there. And now she missed Pounce too, missed her soft fur, her warmth. If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine she was still in _her_ cave, living _her_ life, where she always knew what was going to happen with nothing else to worry about. Well, nothing that would actually affect her. 

 

It was in this state of travel worn nostalgia and bittersweet remembrance that the accidental kicking of a stone was heard outside the cave. Nepeta hardly looked up, uncaring of whomever it was had found her like this. It was their fault; this cave hadn't been taken by anybody, and if someone was out exploring, then they had no right complaining about what they found. 

“Nepeta? Is that you?”


End file.
